Happy Birthday, Mother Earth

Today is Earth Day, so something like a birthday of sorts, I guess.

So, what did you do for Mother today? Cycle to work? Plant a tree? Refuse that extra plastic bag? Started a compost heap? Damn good!

I volunteered one hour of my time to talk about becoming greener at the Dell factory in Bayan Lepas, Penang. They have a huge cafeteria which they partitioned into two for my talk. As I walked in, I asked, we're going to have the talk here? It's too big. Sorry, only place big enough. They are going to sit around the dining tables? Yah. Ehh, can we move the chairs in a line closer to the stage? They will be too far away and I will have to shout. OK, we can move the chairs, but we have to move it ourselves. The facilities people won't do it.

So, the clock is ticking. Getting closer to 10 am. Where's the crowd. One of the directors came and chatted with me. He used to be in-charge of greening Dell when he was in Singapore. Now he's here to say a few words of welcome. But he surprised me by staying for the whole show. Still waiting - and in the process I got to know a little about what the few thousand workers do in that factory. Actually, most of the staff at this facility operate the call center, giving technical support to customers. Many of them are also in sales, making sales pitch and taking phone-in orders. And they have quotas to meet. And commissions to earn. Ah, one hour to listen to green stuff is probably quite low in their priorities.

But over on the other side of the dining hall was a lonnnnng snaking line of perhaps close to a hundred staff queuing up - for what? Freebees, of course. A foreign bank was offering 5 gifts (4 types of bags and one umbrella) for every applicant for credit card. What, everyone can get meh? Yes, as long as you show the bank your current credit cards. Of course, I used the long queue to point to excessive consumption during my talk.

Hey, its pass 10 am already, where's the crowd. Shall we start? Yah, I think this is all the crowd we will get. How many, do you think? Well, see the row of empty chairs in the picture below. Ah, it's not the numbers but the quality of the audience that counts.

And so the show began. But part way thru, I started to realise alot of people sitting on the chairs at the dining tables. I thought they were just passing by or waiting for the credit card line. But when I started doing the pop quizzes, hey, they were all listening and participating. And I started to realise that I had a fairly "full-house" of every enthusiastic participants.

I had a lot of fun. Every "lecture" is different. Maybe if I do it 2,000 times I can follow Al Gore's footsteps. Hhmm worth a shot.

Say happy Earth Day.
ps. can't upload the photo - will have to do it from home. The connection from campus sucks.

Waiting for the crowd. In the background is a long line waiting for freebies.

above : Front row audience warming up. I must have said something to make them smile. below : View from the back - full house.
photos courtesy of Siew Tin